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JULY TEST DRIVE MEME

JULY 2020 TEST DRIVE MEME

Welcome to July's Test Drive Meme! This month's Test Drive's theme is: JUDGEMENT HORROR.

All Test Drive Memes contain at least one clue to the Deerington's upcoming in-game events for the month! Keep your eyes peeled! But...not literally.

Characters may die during TDMs, but you do not need to count it towards a game-canonical death unless you want to. Consider it a freebie. All TDMs can be considered game canon as TDMs introduce minor aspects about the world of Deerington that can be revisited by characters later on in the game. You may also use TDMs for your application writing sample as well as AC.

CW: Violence, possible gore, intense nightmares, possible death, religion, slow suffocation, melting skin, throat trauma, fire
Don't forget to tag content whenever necessary. Have fun!

Prompt One
Prompt Two
Prompt Three
Character Arrival
Master Navigation

STICKS AND STONES

Anyone who has been to school in Deerington likely knows about the possessed bathroom walls by now. The writing blasting your deepest and darkest fears, your best kept secrets, always manifesting the worst parts of yourself. It starts off slow, and grows, and grows... Anyone who looks at the wall only sees rumors about themselves, usually, but lately, people have started to be able to see rumors being written about other people. The writing slowly starts to leak out of the bathroom, starting to spread on the school walls and lockers. Eventually, it starts to spread out into the town itself.

Writing and drawings start to show up around town. It seems like they're exposing peoples worst memories, their darkest actions, but anyone who reads the writing about themselves will see that Deerington has taken a few liberties to make it seem even worse. Did you kill someone in self-defense? The wall will describe how you did it in cold blood. Or maybe you accidentally broke someone's heart? Everyone will read how you manipulated, lied, and destroyed the emotions of an innocent person. Eventually, it will start to make things up that may have never actually happened, but when it's mixed in with all the stories that hold a grain of truth, how can anyone tell the difference?

People will find themselves compelled to believe the rumors, no matter how well they know the person they're written about. Some people might even find themselves tempted to add to the rumors with writings of their own.

You can not scrub the writing off the wall, but it can be covered up or scratched out by markers and paint. The rumors will just write themselves back in within 24 hours, but at least you might be able to stop people from seeing the worst bits about your personality if you're quick enough.

MAY BREAK MY BONES

People will start to find themselves getting exceptionally tired as of late. Even those who don't normally sleep, or normally can't physically sleep, will still find themselves drifting off into whatever equivalent their body can manage. Maybe you curl up on the sofa for a little nap or you're crawling into bed at the end of a long day or you could even just stretch out in the park to get a little shut eye.

No matter where or when you fall asleep, it will be extremely restless. Nightmarish, even.

You "wake up" in a room with a large climbing wall in front of you and nothing but darkness underneath. You aren't alone; the person beside you seems to have just woken up here as well. Maybe it's a friend, maybe it's a stranger, but you're both going to want to take in your surroundings before you get to any kind of chit chat. You can tell you're dreaming, but it all feels, looks, and smells so real. The scent of rust, metal, and blood fill your senses to an overwhelming degree. If you usually rely on powers, you'll find that they aren't working here. You'll also find out quickly just how mortal you may have become.

The large wall is littered with traps. Spikes that shoot out of the wall, ready to skewer the unfortunate person in front of them. Large bear traps will snap shut, just the right height to cut off a persons head at the neck. Random large bouts of fire and sudden puffs of acidic gas that can melt skin. It's hard to tell what triggers each space or if it's entirely random, but you'll need to move quickly in order to avoid all the death traps that are awaiting you.

Especially once the wall starts to deteriorate in front of you. You have to start climbing. Now. You have to move quickly to avoid the wall falling apart while you're climbing it. If it catches up to you, you'll fall into the darkness below, eventually hitting the sharp rocks at the bottom. If you get injured by one of the traps, you'll find that you can really feel it. You'll bleed the same way you would have if you had been injured in real life— even if you don't normally bleed or feel pain at all.

If you climb fast enough and make it to the top of the wall, there will be a door waiting for you. Walk through and you'll wake up wherever you fell asleep. If you sustained any injuries, you'll find that they've been reflected on your body. Hopefully they weren't fatal. Those who don't have human bodies will still find gashes in their bodies where the injuries may have been sustained in their dreams.

Should you die in the dream? You'll die in real life. The body of someone who dies within the dream will suddenly convulse before turning to the same purple dust that all the other bodies in Deerington do before they're reincarnated a week later.

BUT WORDS STILL HURT LIKE HELL

Sometimes when you wake up from your nightmare realms, you won't be in your bed or on your couch. You'll find instead that you're stuck in a confessional booth, even if it means you've been resized to fit in the small space. There's someone on the other side of the screen, but it's not a priest; it's another Sleeper. You're both trapped, the doors refusing to open, and no amount of physical strength or destructive power will make a dent on the walls. The only way out... is to confess.

And you can't just confess any old thing; it has to be something that has been weighing on your mind for some time. Maybe a memory that fills you with guilt, or admittance to an unrequited love, or a deep desire to hurt someone... Anything that's been keeping you up at night, causing tension inside of you. It's your chance to really get things off your chest.

The longer you take to confess, the more dangerous things will become. The air seems to be slowly being sucked out from the confessional booth, slowly suffocating whoever is sitting inside. Even if you don't normally rely on air, you'll start to find yourself choking. It's like your very life force is being sucked out of you. The more you talk, the easier it becomes to breathe, and once you've both finished? The doors will simply unlock.

When you exit the booth, you'll find yourself inside the Deerington church. Turn around and you'll find there is no booth in sight. Guess it's time to just head home.

Character Arrival

You can read how all characters arrive in Deerington here.

There is not a collective "all these characters showed up at the exact same moment" occurrence in Deerington. Since characters fall asleep, die, or pass out at various times throughout all their worlds, it wouldn't make too much sense if they arrived in game all at the exact same time. There should be some discrepancy between character arrival, whether by a couple minutes, hours, or even days up to a week.

The players are entirely in control of how/when they want to play their characters arriving in Deerington. For TDMs, you can play it like your character has just arrived and that can be maintained as your game canon, or you can wait until game events for that moment. Or you don't need to acknowledge it at all. The flexibility for character allows a bit more of an organic feel to the character arrival situation, so please play it to whatever feels right for you.

If you are interested in having an "arrival" introduction for one of your TDM prompts, you are more than welcome to explore that option.

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[Jezebel tries to observe all the traps around the room without moving too much, in the hopes of not setting anything off. The entire setup was...irritating, to be honest. He'd gotten used to the strange setup of the town, and even to its dangers, but he hated forced setups like this. After all, he was hardly the most dexterous person on the best of days.

Hearing the sound of a person's voice is good -- perhaps it's someone who'll have a better handle on this -- but he could hardly imagine who he'd encounter when he turns around.

There's a full second or two where he's not entirely sure if he can believe what he's seeing, but the person in front of him doesn't change, and there are no signs of an illusion. Jezebel's eyes go wide as he asks:]

Cassian?

[It's only once he fully turns around and another second of mutual staring passes that Cassian's mind finally catches up. No, he's not supposed to be here, he's supposed to be back in London.

And yet here he is.]

Doctor...hold on. Don't move.

[He's not usually the one giving the orders, but after...well, everything, and the fact he knows Jezebel isn't as dexterous as he is, Cassian didn't spare it much thought.

He jumps over the next panel, again noting his usual reflexes seem slower -almost normal- and purposefully trips the bear trap so he can duck under it. It was large enough to lop a normal man's head off, sure, but not him.

As soon as he was past that, nothing else seemed to actively try to kill him as he made it to the doctor's side. First things first:]

Are you okay?

[Jezebel just -- lets Cassian tell him what to do, holding stock still out of shock more than anything. Really, it's very difficult to do anything else, at least until Cassian gets closer.

And then it really sinks into him: this is really, truly Cassian, isn't it. He doesn't understand how or why, or even what happened to his newer body, but that doesn't matter, does it.]

I'm fine. I'm all right.

[Exhaling, trying to steady himself -- all while never looking away from Cassian's face -- he asks:]

How did you get here? How did this happen?

[With only a brief moment of hesitation, he reached up to put his hand on Jezebel's arm, as though checking for himself the doctor was there in front of him. In front of him and safe. Good. Maybe this was a second chance to keep protecting him.]

Here? [He nods to the climbing wall beside them.] I don't even think we're actually awake here, not that I'm all that keen to test it.

In this place as a whole...I woke up here. Maybe an hour ago, I'm not sure.

[Had he just fallen asleep for no reason out in the woods with that basket and the note he couldn't read more than half of? He'd have to worry about that later.]

Before that, we were in that bastard, Cassandra's, place.

[Bleeding out on the ground, the doctor's arm around his shoulders, his hand staining that pale cheek with his blood, his eyes closing as his own voice grew more distant to his ears...]

[He smiles ever so slightly when Cassian grabs his arm. It's an instinct he'd felt, too, to reach out and make sure that Cassian was no illusion. But his hand feels warm and solid on his sleeve, and for the moment that's enough for some relief.]

I am real, Cassian. I can promise you that much.

[Still, Cassian's answer surprises him a bit, his eyes growing wider for a moment.]

At Cassandra's? You mean -- you don't remember anything that happened after that?

[Jezebel isn't sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Perhaps it's both. It explains why Cassian looks the way he does, but it also means that there is a large gap between them -- a gap that included both Cassian's new form, but also that last night in the tower.]

[Cassian nods, like hearing the words might be what he needed. He didn't really know what he needed, but the warmth of the arm under his hand and those words seemed close enough.

And yet, he's unsettled all over again with what Jezebel's question easily implies.]

After? [As far as he knew, 'after' would be a simple box in a shallow grave, if they even bothered that much. Maybe the Cardmaster would send his body in to Dr. Zenopia for experiments. That sounded just as likely.]

Why? What happened after?

[It settles on him that Cassian had assumed he'd died, and something in his heart breaks at that. He had been very, very close to it, after all. If it hadn't been for Cassandra being so close, if it hadn't been for all his preparations...

He tries not to think about that. It didn't happen. Cassian is alive.

With a faint, sad smile, Jezebel adds:]

You didn't die in Cassandra's house, for a start. We were able to save you and keep you alive.

You're still alive, as far as I know, you were all right last I knew when I arrived here.

[That didn't seem possible...his wound was awful, he could feel it was different from other injuries he'd had...but, then again, Jezebel was a very good doctor and Delilah's abilities were the best in the world. If they'd gotten him help soon enough, then maybe. No, the thought they'd even spend the resources on him seemed less likely, the more he thought of it.

He wished he could remember.]

What happened to Cassandra? I attacked him and [far more importantly:] he was coming after you when I did. They didn't just let him go, did they?

[And...wait...if they had some sort of gap in their memories, then that begged another question.]

How long have you been stuck here?

Only a month. Just long enough to get a sense of this place.

[Jezebel is quiet for a beat or two, thinking how best to explain. He has no intention to lie, not about this, but he remembers all too well the confusion in Cassian's eyes when he'd woken up wearing an entirely different face, his limbs and entire form much different from what he'd remembered.]

They didn't let him go. When he stabbed you, I rushed you to an operating room, along with Cassandra.

[With a pained, wistful smile, he explains:] Before all that, I'd done my research. Cassandra matched your blood type and had compatible organs with yours. I knew that he was a perfect match for you in terms of donation. And I'd always known you wanted a new body.

[Grimacing slightly, he'd said:] I'd planned to speak with you once I had won my wager with him, but there wasn't any time for that with your injuries. You would have died if no action had been taken.

So we moved your brain into his body. It was successful. You were alive again, in a new form, and as healthy as if nothing had ever hurt you.

[That seemed so wrong to him. All this 'different time' stuff seemed off to him, like an instinct rubbed wrong, but he waited patiently for the rest of the explanation he hoped he'd get.

And what an explanation it was. He was quiet for a moment that stretched on longer than he might usually as he processed all...that.

On one hand, the idea of being in Cassandra's body...just the thought- but on the other hand, what it really meant. IT wouldn't be Cassandra's body any more, but his? A fully grown body so his outside would finally match his inside...that was all he'd ever wanted for a long while.]

I-

[And Jezebel had made it happen. He'd researched it. He'd...made that horrible wager and stayed in the company of a man he hated just as much as Cassian did, put himself at risk, all for...maybe it wasn't exactly how he'd imagined it, but it was a solution nonetheless. On one hand, he'd told Jezebel to let him die and he'd kept this whole idea a secret -why? On the other hand...that meant Cassandra would be well and truly gone, flushed down a drain...on another hand, the life Cassian would be allowed to live with a body like that... what he could turn around and do for Jezebel in return-

And he was here. Like this instead.]

I'm not-

[The ground seemed to shake below them and Cassian's grip tightened on Jezebel's arm to steady him. Far back behind them, the ground began to crumble.

He pointed to a ledge above them and instantly moved so he could help boost Jezebel up to it.]

Go! Up there!

[He knows what he's telling Cassian is a lot to process. Truly, Jezebel knows there's no easy way to comprehend all of this, especially in circumstances that are already so strange. Hell, it had been a lot to explain when Cassian awoke from surgery before this -- he remembers all too well the confused expression he'd worn as Jezebel explained his research, the wager, what had happened while he'd been asleep...

Really, it was almost convenient that the floor gave out before Cassian had to respond.

Jezebel reacts about as quickly as he can, despite the shock, letting Cassian push him up towards the ledge. Thankfully, he's tall enough that it's manageable to grab on and scramble his way up, before immediately turning around to lay on his stomach, holding his arms out towards Cassian.]

Here, grab on and I'll help you up!

[As inconvenient as a collapsing floor was, the opportunity for the adrenaline to sweep away his thoughts is a welcome one, all he had to do right now was let instinct take over until they were safe.

Cassian took Jezebel's hands and used the leverage to vault up to the ledge, though he didn't let go once he was up there with him.]

We need to find a way out of here.

Edited (dreamwidth hecked me) 2020-07-02 19:48 (UTC)

[Not for the first time in his life, Jezebel is grateful for being tall and for Cassian being strong -- his long arms are enough for Cassian to grab onto, and Cassian is able to hoist himself the rest of the way. He makes it over the edge just as the floor gives out completely, and a crack appears on the ledge beneath them.

Glancing about, Jezebel notices the wall behind them -- and on top of it, a door.]

I'm sure that's the way out -- or at least the path away from all this debris. We'll just have to climb the rest of the way.

[He notices vaguely that Cassian has not let go of his hands -- which is strange but not unwelcome.]

[He holds on in case he needs to move Jezebel out of the way of something; he knows his reflexes are faster and he's stronger. That crack under their platform is already spreading and he's quick to keep them moving.]

It's worth a shot. Here.

[As soon as they're to the next ledge up, he lets go only to cup his hands to help the doctor up again as before. He'd rather not fall into whatever abyss was below them, but if he could at least get Jezebel up to that door, it'd be enough.]

[Jezebel wastes no time accepting Cassian's aid, using the boost up to grab at the top of the wall. He scrambles gracelessly for a moment, hearing the sound of cracking stone beneath him as he manages to himself up the rest of the way.

The door seems to glow the closer he gets to it. Without hesitation, Jezebel lays flat on his stomach and extends his arms downward once again, grasping for Cassian's hands.]

This must be it. Hurry!

[Cassian jumps up without a second to lose, his foot very nearly pushing off air as his hands curl around Jezebel's and he hoists himself up. The door glows more strongly as they approach and the ground seems to finally maintain its stability.

First priority, though:]

You okay?

I'm all right.

[He is, but his voice is distracted as he glances at the door, which shines so brightly now that they're both close to it. Without hesitation, he takes Cassian's wrist in his hand and starts to pull him towards it, listening for the sounds of further destruction from below.]

Let's just get out of here -- now, before the floor crumbles out from underneath...

Right.

[He nods, quick to follow Jezebel out, though purposefully making sure the doctor does go first. Just in case he's right and the floor isn't as solid as it seems.

The light of the door burned his eyes a bit, enough that, when he went through it and he opened them again to the forest around him, he could have sworn he could still see a halo in his vision.

More importantly, there was no Jezebel in sight, though he could feel the phantom pressure of a hand around his wrist.]

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JULY TEST DRIVE MEME

JULY 2020 TEST DRIVE MEME

STICKS AND STONES

MAY BREAK MY BONES

BUT WORDS STILL HURT LIKE HELL

Character Arrival

May Break My Bones

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